Wellesley’s Palli fell hard for game as a relative newcomer
Ben Palli was all in on basketball growing up. He loved everything about the game and earned a spot in Wellesley’s starting lineup as a sophomore. He was a Bay State Conference honorable mention selection as a junior.
He played as much as he could during the offseason. The only problem? Palli only stands about 5 feet, 6 inches tall. While height was not going to eliminate his chances of landing a spot on a college roster, it was certainly going to hamper them.
“Growing up in a hotbed of lax like Wellesley, I always hear about it, but my family was always a basketball family, first,” Palli said.
“I’d have friends that’d play [lacrosse], and I’m like, ‘No, I’m more of a basketball guy.’ Then I get to sophomore year, I’m trying to get recruited for basketball and I hear some other guys who haven’t played before playing. I’m like, you know I want to go out there and play. I just finished my baseball career, maybe I’ll give it a try.”
He had never picked up a lacrosse stick before, but Palli earned a spot on the junior varsity. He said it was fun and he scored a few goals, but he didn’t really catch the bug until a rash of injuries on the varsity led to his battlefield promotion.
“I just noticed the similarities of basketball and lacrosse,” he said. “I love the game. You don’t have to be 6-5 to play at a high level, and I just fell in love with it ever since.”
Wellesley coach Jim Connolly is the exact opposite; he was born into the game — his father, Steve, captained the undefeated UMass team in 1969 and went on to coach at Billerica and North Andover, where Jim finished with 523 career points, a state record at the time.
“In my opinion, basketball players make the best lacrosse players,” said Connolly, now in his seventh year leading the Raiders. “The pick and roll, obviously. The defense is pretty much the same, how to space out, passing lanes, how to get open, back cut somebody.
Connolly said Palli’s lacrosse IQ has been “incredibly high” for someone who has been playing for such a short period of time.
“It’s a combination of him working at the wall, his personality and being willing to dive into something and the box lacrosse is probably the best way to develop players, in my opinion, and the proof is in the pudding with Benny,” said the coach.
The traits that made Palli a standout on the hardwood gives an indication why he has quickly found success on the field and committed to play collegiately at Roger Williams University.
“Ben is quite athletic. Good hand-eye coordination,” said Mike Reidy, who recently announced he was stepping down after 18 seasons as boys’ basketball coach at Wellesley. “He is quick and strong – very powerful with his center of gravity. He is highly competitive and always willing and able to defend and make the tough plays.”
The type of attributes that can carry over into any sport.
Connolly has full faith in putting Palli wherever he needs him in key situations. The Raiders were holding a two-goal lead late at Milton recently, and Palli, who had spent the first threeplus quarters with a short stick, came out of a timeout with a long stick, and he forced a turnover and gathered the ground ball with just over a minute remaining helping to secure a 6-4 win.
Palli had three goals and two assists in the season-opening win over Natick, scoring in the final seconds of the first half to help spark the Raiders’ comeback in the second half.
“[The coaches] just look at each other sometimes and we’re like, ‘Can you believe this kid’s only been playing for two years?’ ” Connolly said. “He does everything the right way, does everything we ask, he’s passionate, he’s into it.”
Quick sticks
R Vacation week tournaments continue Thursday and culminate Saturday with the Players Cup final at BC High, the Coaches Cup final at Knowlton Stadium in Winchester, and the Chowda Cup final at Scituate. Consolation games may precede the tournament finales, which are scheduled for 4 p.m. The Beantown Brawl final between Dracut and Pentucket is Thursday, 2:30 p.m. at Westford Academy.
R Billerica sophomore Kam Tremblay tied a school record with nine goals and became one of the youngest players in state history to reach 100 career goals during last Friday’s 21-8 win over North Andover . . . Scituate junior Will Robinson also recorded nine goals in Tuesday’s 19-8 win over Hanover, a career-high for Robinson, but one short of the program record . . . Shrewsbury coach Nate Skermont guided the Colonials to victory for the 200th time in his career Saturday in a 9-5 defeat of North Middlesex . . . Junior midfielder Connor Terrien became the first player in Seekonk school history to surpass 100 career points in a 12-5 win over Attleboro on April 11 . . . Lincoln Moore recorded his third five-goal game of the season, this time the last coming in overtime to give Foxborough a 6-5 nonleague win over Natick.